SWAG, TENT OR CAMPER TRAILER

We take you through the pros and cons

We’re assuming at the outset that you’re going seriously off
road, so a camper trailer has replaced a caravan on your potential
purchase list. That means your choice is between swags, tents and
camping trailers.

Swags

Swags are as fashionable as R M Williams boots, but that
doesn’t mean they’re necessarily the right choice for you and yours on a
long bush trip.

The modern swag is the descendant of the drover’s canvas bed
roll - horse-mounted ‘accommodation’ that could be stowed across a
saddle cloth or thrown into a dray. The most popular type was a simple
canvas bag with a fold-over top flap.

The rolled-up design of the swag kept dust and rain out of
the bedding while in transit. Once laid out on the ground the swag
offered some protection from wind and rain, but our ancestors knew the
limitations of the swag and would seek a sheltered spot, where possible,
for additional protection.

The traditional simple swag is still available, but most
modern swags have improved security against unwanted visitors, either of
the flying or wriggling type. Mesh panels, a short pole and hoop to
elevate the canvas ‘roof’ above the bedding, waterproof floor material
and ground pegs have made most modern swags mini-tents, in effect.

There’s nothing quite like snuggling with your partner in a
double swag, with its top panel opened to the starlit desert night sky,
gazing at the brightness that eludes city dwellers, but, conversely,
there’s nothing worse than hearing the first heavy raindrop thud onto
the canvas.

Swags aren’t much fun in heavy rain: when you unzip the top
to get out the downpour soaks your pillow; and because you and your
bedding are so close to the sides it’s only a matter of time before the
wet exterior becomes a damp interior. I can remember one stormy night
when I finally gave up trying to keep dry after the heavens opened and
stepped out of the soggy swag for an impromptu bush shower!

Another problem with swags is a ‘closeness’ that makes them
uncomfortable in the hot, humid conditions that prevail in the tropics.

Many people drop their swags close to their vehicles and
stretch tarps from gutters or roof racks for rain protection. This
arrangement works very well. Others lay swags in the back of unloaded
utes.

Years of experience have taught us that the best swag
expeditions are winter desert ones, where the chances of rain are
slight, or on shorter trips in fine, cool weather.

Swags are ideal for couples, because a double swag packs
into a space that’s not much bigger than the volume of a compact tent
and bedding roll. However, swags for a family of four – two adults in a
double swag and two kids in individual singles – take up a lot of
vehicle space.

Stowing swags on a roof rack is OK, but don’t expect them to
stay completely dry if it’s raining hard and they’re uncovered – the
speed of the vehicle forces rainwater into the fabric at an accelerated
rate. Dust build up is another problem and, while it mightn’t get inside
the swags, makes handling them a dirty business. A roof rack cover is a
handy way of keeping roof top loads clean and dry.

There’s a range of relatively new hybrid swag/tent choices
in the market. These swags on legs, with tent tops, fit between
ground-based swags and hard-floor camper trailers.

Tents

It’s difficult keeping up with the different tent designs
these days, but this choice makes it possible to get exactly what you
want. The days when everyone pitched in to raise the heavy family tent
and then pile inside a floorless, canvas erection are fortunately behind
us. Modern tents are easily erected, for the most part, and are much
more weather resistant than their predecessors, so it’s no longer
important to tell the kids not to touch the fabric when it rains.

Tents are as old as mankind, but the invention of synthetic
materials has made design changes that weren’t possible in the days of
plain cotton canvas.

Tent makers aren’t intentional fibbers, but the accepted
method of defining the size of a tent is deceptive. You wouldn’t
describe a normal suburban house as having the capacity to sleep 100
people, but tent makers size their tents by the number of people that
can lie side by side inside them. It’s a good idea to halve the claimed
occupant numbers to get a realistic idea of the size of a tent – a
four-person rating really means a two-person tent.

Tents can be separated into two basic types: standers and crouchers.A
tent you can’t stand up in is a pain in the neck – literally – so this
type is best kept for kids, who love the cubby-house effect of a
croucher.

An exception to the croucher rule is the roof-top tent with
drop-sides, because there’s ample private standing room on the ground
beside the vehicle when the tent is erected. Another exception to the
no-croucher rule is if you intend to do alpine camping in winter, where a
low-profile mountain-climbing tent is the preferred type.

Modern tents pack down to small packages, so it’s not unrealistic to have one for the adults and a separate tent for the kids.

The quickest to erect tents have their main framing attached
to the fabric sides and roof, so that the whole assembly goes up
together, before any ground pegs need to be hammered in.

Different tents suit different purposes. If your travel
plans are for overnight stops you don’t want a tent that takes ages to
put up and take down. In contrast, a quick-erect tent may not make the
ideal beachside holiday home for three weeks at a stretch.

Regardless of what tent you decide on you need plenty of
practice in putting it up and taking it down – before you arrive at a
bush campsite in a howling gale, in the dark, with rain clouds
threatening. It’s much kinder to the tents and the nerves if you know
what you’re doing.

Another important factor in tent selection is the available
packing space in or on your vehicle and this brings us to camping
trailers.

Trailers

As many would-be bush travellers have discovered, by the
time the family and the freight are lined up alongside the 4WD it’s
obvious that the whole assembly ain’t gonna fit. And it’s not fair to
ask father to decide between No 3 son and the beer fridge.

Enter the trailer. A trailer is less of a towing problem
these days than it was a few years ago, because today’s 4WDs have higher
engine outputs, so towing a trailer needn’t mean struggling up hills.

Another factor in favour of towing a trailer is the limited
payload of most of today’s 4WD wagons. Because most of them have put on
weight, in the form of larger power trains and more creature comforts,
their payloads are limited and, even if you could put all your intended
freight on board, you’d be overloaded.

It’s the same situation with most crew cab utes, even though
on paper they have enough payload capacity to swallow all your freight.
The problem with crew cabs is that the cargo tray is mostly behind the
rear axle, so if you put the rated payload in there it’ll overload the
rear end and take weight off the front.

Better to put the pudding on another axle.

It’s important at this point to consider where you intend to
go off-road, because there are some destinations where a trailer will
prove to be a liability.

Trailers can be difficult to manoeuvre on tight mountain
trails and through deep water crossings. Trailers are also a problem in
soft sand, putting a lot of strain on the towing vehicle, which is why
you see few camping trailers on Fraser Island. If you can get around
those hurdles then a camper trailer could be the go.

Camper designs are varied, but can be split into two basic
types: those that are great for overnight camping and those that are
more suitable for longer stays. Overnighters normally have flip-over
lids that pull out the tent as the lid folds down to become a floor.
Longer-stay designs are generally roomier, but take longer to set up.

Get the type that you really need. If you go for a camper
trailer make sure it’s really an off-road design, otherwise you risk
watching it fall to bits as you drive on rough tracks. Don’t buy a
camper that’s over-furnished: fridges, for example, don’t belong in
trailers that pound over corrugated roads.

If you’re in doubt about the viability of a camper trailer, hire one and see if the concept works for you.

Mix ‘n’ match

Swags, tents and camper trailers aren’t necessarily mutually
exclusive choices. We know people who have the lot and choose what they
need for different trips. For example, a swag mattress doubles as a bed
inside a tent or a camper trailer.

Having a variety of camping options lets you choose the best bush ‘house’ for each destination.